Search Results for: Memoir and Biography

“It’s cancer.”

Dr Philippa Kaye was 39 years old when she heard those dreaded words. The diagnosis of bowel cancer would change her life and mean crossing the divide from being a doctor to being a patient. She soon discovered that her years of training and experience had not prepared her for the realities of actually living with cancer.

Doctors Get Cancer Too tells Dr Kaye’s moving story of being on both sides of the desk, and shares the insights she gained not only through the diagnosis and treatment but in surviving and thriving through cancer and beyond. Filled with practical advice, this book aims to make patients and their loved ones feel better understood, more prepared and less alone, and to provide solace for anyone navigating their way through hard times.

Dr Philippa Kaye is a GP with a particular interest in children’s, women’s and sexual health. She has written multiple books on topics ranging from pregnancy and fertility to child health and child development, and she has a weekly column in Woman magazine as well as contributing to other magazines and newspapers. She has regularly been seen broadcasting on radio and television in programmes such as This Morning and The Victoria Derbyshire Show. She is also the GP ambassador for Jo’s Cervical Cancer trust. Her days are filled with a mix of general practice, media work and her other job – being a mum!

Sophie is 21 when she is diagnosed with a rare, aggressive form of cancer. A striking, fun-loving student, she finds her world reduced overnight to the sterile confines of a hospital. But within these walls Sophie discovers a whole new world of gossiping nurses and sexy doctors, and of hair loss and eyebrow pencils.
As Sophie faces the challenges of chemotherapy, wigs – now a crucial part of her life – become a powerful form of self-expression. Each of her nine wigs makes her feel stronger and gives her a distinct personality, and that is why each has its own name: Stella, Sue, Daisy, Blondie, Platina, Uma, Pam, Lydia and Bebé. There’s a bit of Sophie in all of them, and they reveal as much as they hide. Sophie is determined to be much more than a cancer patient.

‘If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrel’s heart beat, and we should die of that roar which lies on the other side of silence.’
George Eliot, Middlemarch

Having spent her life trying to patch up the souls of others, psychiatrist Linda Gask came to realise that being an expert in depression didn’t confer any immunity from it – she had to learn take care of herself, too. Artfully crafted and told with warmth and honesty, this is the story of Linda’s journey, interwoven with insights into her patients’ diverse experiences of depression -inextricably linked with problems in the past and the present such as vulnerability, fear, loss, loneliness, dependence and grief. She sets out to convey, in a new and original way, how it truly feels to experience this devastating illness, what psychotherapy is about, and the role of medication- and provides hope for those who suffer from depression and their loved ones whilst busting the stigma of mental illness.

Whether you dabble or are a devoted drinker, if you’ve ever worried about the negative effects of alcohol, this book is for you. From boozy benders to finding the joy of sobriety, Sober Mama tells the story of one woman’s rollercoaster ride to abstinence and how it transformed her life

Regular hangovers, bad decisions and crippling anxiety were the norm for single mum Rachael Shephard. Every day she would relentlessly drag herself through the never-ending list of chores and a full-time job, trying to hold it all together while she was secretly falling apart. Her beloved Pinot Grigio was destroying her life one glass at a time, until one unassuming Thursday, when she finally broke free from the bottle.

Now, Rachael is a sober coach and happily navigating an alcohol-free life for the first time in twenty-five years. Through honest, relatable and outrageously funny anecdotes, Rachael shares her personal journey to sobriety and offers practical guidance for women around the world who want to ditch the drink for good.